Antiskidding device



June 25, 1935. A, E, BRUFFEE 2,006,210

ANTI SKIDDING DEVICE Filed Nov. 26, 1954 9 6 ,3 7 gmento't Patented June 25, 1935 ANTISK-IDDING- DEVICE ArcherEarl B'ruffee; Portland; Oreg. Application November 26, 1934, Serial No. 754,847

1 Claim.

Myinvention relates to: antiskidding'devices, particularly: forv automobiles, in. which vertical plungersare'attached.tothe rear'end of an automobile, and pressed into the ground by'foot power:

Thezobjectsof my invention are to manufacture arriantiskidding device which is comparatively simple. and1inexpensive in construction; which can. easilybe attached :to any automobile; which can be swungoutofztheway to give fullroad clearance for normal or summer driving; which can .quickly beplaced inoperative position by the simplerelease ofia hand lever; which is operated by one of the regular foot pedals oflthe automobile; which'can be used as an extra brake; and.

which provides'the automobile driver'with an effective safe guard against skidding;

I attain these objects with the mechanism illus trated in the accompanying drawing, in which- Fig. l is a-plan view of theentireapparatus,- therelevant parts. of an automobile being indicated' where necessary.

Fig. 2 is a section through Fig. 1 along: the line 2"2.

Fig; 3 is=a perspectiveviewofthe bracket.

Fig; 4 is a detail of the plunger mechanism, part* thereof being shown in' section;

Fig. illustrates-the support' ofi the. ice: brake in'the: bracket.

Fig. G'isa detail of the frame construct-ion.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts housing lof an automobile, is abracket2 for the support of the ice brake. The details of the bracket are shown in Figs. 3 and 5. The tubular ice brake shaft 3 rests between the upright lugs 4. The slots 5 in the lugs 4 serve for the reception of the shaft bearing 6, and also permit adjustment for height. A strap 1, which fits into the holes 8 in the bracket 2, clamps the latter to the under side of the rear axle housing I. An angular extension 9, on the bracket 2, reaches sideways under the automobile spring H), where the spring shackle bolts l I, fitting into the holes l2 in the bracket 2, help to preserve said bracket 2 in horizontal position.

The ice brake includes the tubular shaft 3 mounted in the bracket 2, and preserved by a collar l3, adjacent to the bearing 6, against side slip. Each end of the tubular shaft 3 carries a T-fitting I4 for the reception of a tubular guide 15. The bottom of said tubular guide I5 is left open, while the top is closed by a perforated cap IS. Projecting from the bottom of the tubular guide. lfifis 'a'plunger H. with aserrated end? A- stem l8; integralwith the plunger 11, projects; through the perforated cap it. Surroundingthe. stemtfi, within the tubular guide I5; isa helical;

spring l9; whose upper end:presses:against a:col-.- 5'

lar are on the stem 18, while the lower: endz'of: the spring it rests on a shoulderZl .lIl'lthf-Jfitflbular. guide It, immediately abovesthe plunger} H. Thus, when the stemiB with its collarr20i.

and plunger l? is pressed down, thespring-JIB: 10

cross shaft 28; which latter is suitablyrmountedz 25..

in the chassis 29 of the automobile: The cross.- shaft 28 carries another arm 3fiwitha forwardly extending cable 31 at the end of..'said.arm'=3!l;t. Cross shaft and arm thus ccnstitutinga belltcrank;

for the cables throughout the entire length of'..':30

the shaft.

The cable 3! terminates in the vicinity of the foot'pedal 32'- (either-brake or clutch peda1;..-f.or purpose of illustration, the-formermay ba mantioned first), and is aifixed totl'ielower'endiof'fai. vertical 'lever' 33, whose upper end-is -hingedly and'fa also slidably suspended from a rail 34 on the me board 35 of the automobile.

The forward apex of the brake pedal 32 is provided with a roller 36 to reduce friction, and touches against the middle portion of the hung lever 33. Thus, when the brake pedal 32 is de-. pressed, the hung lever will occupy the position indicated by the dotted line 33 in Fig. 2, and the pressure will be transmitted as tension through the cables 3| and 26 to the curved extension 25. The latter, being part of the cam 24 pivoted at I 23, the cam will exert a downward pressure on the stem l8, toward the dotted line 24 in Fig. 4, and drive the plunger into the ice. Since the leverage between the pivotal point 23 and the stem [8 is reduced as the cam 24 slides along the top of the stem l8 and approaches the position indicated by the dotted line 24, there is an appreciable gain in downward pressure as the plunger of the automobile engine. 'The pivot 38 for the upper limb of the frame 31 can readily be ar-- ranged on the intake manifold 39 of the auto- I! enters deeper into the ice and greater pressure is needed.

However, it is neither desirable-nor necessary that the plunger I! should descend every time that the brake pedal 32 is used; particularly in summer time, or when no skidding need be apprehended. At such times the hung lever 33 can be shifted to one side and away from the break pedal 32. illustrated in Fig. 6, is pivoted to available parts mobile engine. The pivot 40 for the lower limb of the frame 31 can best be obtained by attaching an angle bracket 4| to the steering column support 42 of the automobile. The upper limb of the frame 31 is bent to one side, as shown in Fig. Land engages with its bifurcated end 43' the hung lever 33 on the rail 34. When the end 43 of the lower limb of the frame 31 is pulled back,

the entire frame 31 will act in the nature of a bell crank and, in'occupying the position, indicated by the dotted line 31 in Fig. 1, carry thev hung lever 33 to one side and away from the brake pedal 32.

To enable the motorist to turn the frame 37 quickly, and with the greatest convenience, there is-a shift lever 44 near the drivers seat, suit- I ably fulcrumed at 45 in the floor of the automobile. .A rod 46 leads from the shift lever 44, above the fulcrum 45, to the end 43 of the lower limb of the frame 37. Thus, when the shift lever 44 is pulledinto the vertical position, indicated by the dotted line 44, the rod 46 pushes the frame 31,'and said frame throws the hung lever out of commission. A suitably notched plate 41, in the floor board of the automobile, holds the shift lever securely in backward or forward position.

Theshift lever 44 has yet one more function, and that. is, to swing the plunger I! of the ice brake from a vertical into a horizontal position, indicated by. the dotted'line I1 in Fig. .2. However, all that is needed for that, purpose, is a, rod

48, extending from the lower end of the shift lever 44 to. an arm'49'on the tubular shaft 3.

A chair 50, on'the bracket 2, as shown plainly in Fig.3, furnishes a secure back rest for the tubular guide IE, to prevent the same from bend,-

ing backward or sideways, under the strain of,

- application.

In operation, during normal driving when no skidding is to be feared, the shift lever occupies a vertical position close to the drivers seat, and

presents no obstaclesto the fullest freedom of his movements. The hung lever is at one side of the For that purpose a frame 31, as

brake pedal and entirely clear thereof. The

plungers lie horizontally, giving full road clearance under the automobile. Since the cams turn with the plungers, the cables between the curved extensions and the appertainingbell crank are slackened and relieved of all strain.

7 However, if skidding is expected, or a slippery patch in the roadway suddenly encountered, the shift lever is quickly thrown forward. That rotates the frame so as to bring the hung lever before the brake pedal, and at the same time swings the plungers into a vertical position. The tubular guides rest securely in their chairs, and

all the cables are under proper tension for im-' mediate action. The moment that the automobile driver feels his machine skidding, he merely has to obey his natural impulses to step on the brake pedal. That drives the serrated ends of the plungers into the ground, and retards the forward momentum of the automobile at the same time. When the pressure on the brake pedal is removed, the helical spring in the tubular guide will restore plunger, stem, andcam automatically to normal position.

If, for some reason, this additional use of the brake pedal is not desired, it is very easy. to dimension the frame so that the hung lever will be brought rather before the clutch pedal instead of the brake pedal. The'effect, in so far as the anti skidding feature is concerned, will be exactly the same. I p

Also, if the ordinary brakesshould get out, of

order, the ice brake can be used'as an effective of an automobile, cams operatively connected;

with the plungers, a hung lever in front of a foot pedal of the automobile, and means between the hung lever and the cams to force the plungers into the ground upon depression of the foot pedal, with a shift lever adjacent to the drivers seat to remove the hung lever from the foot pedal and to swing the plungers into a horizontal position.

A. E. BRUFFEE. 

